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Everyday dose of a vital vitamin

Vitamin C helps fight a host of illnesses

Linus Pauling, the only person ever to win two unshared Nobel prizes (for Chemistry and Peace), was one of the most enthusiastic champions of Vitamin C's role as an antioxidant. He believed it helped prevent diseases ranging from the common cold to cancer, and towards the end of his life he consumed more than 20 gm of it daily. He lived to be nearly a hundred years old, and saw his longevity as proof of Vitamin C's antioxidant powers. A diet rich in Vitamin C like fresh fruit can reduce the lifetime risk of cancer. Vitamin C is one antioxidant among many in fruits, and it may be the combination of antioxidants, rather than Vitamin C alone that is responsible for the ability of a fruit-rich diet to reduce the risk of cancer.

Vitamin C should be consumed everyday because the body cannot store it for later use. The richest sources of this vitamin include gooseberries, green peppers, oranges, papaya, mango, watermelon, lemons, limes, tomatoes, cabbage, leafy greens, sweet and white potatoes, cantaloupe and all berries. Men and women over the age of 18 need around 90 mg of Vitamin C per day. Smokers need an additional 35 mg per day because smoking depletes Vitamin C. A typical orange contains around 70 mg of Vitamin C.

Vitamin C deficiency can lead to dry and splitting hair, inflamed and bleeding gums: rough, dry, scaly skin; nosebleeds; anaemia; slow wound-healing and easy bruising; weakened tooth enamel; swollen and painful joints and lowered resistance to infection. It can also lead to weight gain because of slowed metabolic rate. A severe form of Vitamin C deficiency is known as scurvy. Taking more than two gram of Vitamin C per day can cause diarrhoea.

RAJIV M.

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